This invention relates to new and useful improvements in drives for harvester swath pick-ups and consitutes an improvement in the arrangement disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,978 (Canadian Pat. No. 1,091,452 issued Dec. 16th, 1980).
In this patent, a swath pick-up includes a pair of spiders or support plates, one on each end of a frame and each being arranged at an angle with respect to the direction of travel and to the transverse axis of the pick-up. A forked inwardly offset arm is pivotally secured to a block on the outer end of each arm of each of the spiders, in the form of a universal joint. A transversely extending member, from which pick-up teeth extend, extends between each offset arm on one of the spiders and the corresponding arm on the other spider.
One of the spiders is rotated by a source of power such as a hydraulic motor and the angular relationship of the spiders causes the transverse members and the pick-up teeth to reciprocate transversely as they rotate. The offset arms enable a pick-up of reduced diameter to be provided thereby increasing the efficiency of the pick-up action yet providing sufficient room at the spiders for the installation and operation of the universal joints and arms on the spiders.
This invention has worked well and has seen some success but has disadvantages in that the drive tends to vibrate in view of the universal joint coupling between the spiders and the transverse members and the nature of universal joints running at a sharp angle.